Jeremiah 51:35-43

Verse 35-38 “The violence done to me and to my flesh be upon Babylon, shall the inhabitant of Zion say; and my blood upon the inhabitants of Chaldea, shall Jerusalem say. Therefore thus saith the LORD; Behold, I will plead thy cause, and take vengeance for thee; and I will dry up her sea, and make her springs dry. And Babylon shall become heaps, a dwellingplace for dragons, an astonishment, and an hissing, without an inhabitant. They shall roar together like lions: they shall yell as lion's whelps.”

The citizen of Israel will pronounce a judgment against Babylon that the violence done to all of Israel will be visited back upon Babylon. The blood that Babylon shed, she will now shed. God will take up the cause of Israel and exact vengeance upon Babylon for her. He will dry up her waters and make her a desert. Again we are told that she will come a heap of ruins, a place where only animals live. Here we see dragons mentioned. The Hebrew word indicates “monsters.” One might hypothesize that these dragons are dinosaurs, which might very well make a come-back, given the reports coming in from places in the deepest parts of Africa, and the jungles of New Guinea, that people are seeing creatures whose descriptions do seem to match dinosaurs. These dragons will roar like lions. They are a mighty animal.

Verse 39 - 43 “In their heat I will make their feasts, and I will make them drunken, that they may rejoice, and sleep a perpetual sleep, and not wake, saith the LORD. I will bring them down like lambs to the slaughter, like rams with he goats. How is Sheshach taken! and how is the praise of the whole earth surprised! how is Babylon become an astonishment among the nations! The sea is come up upon Babylon: she is covered with the multitude of the waves thereof. Her cities are a desolation, a dry land, and a wilderness, a land wherein no man dwelleth, neither doth any son of man pass thereby.”

God is going to encourage Babylon's people to feast, and drink and party, so that they may be taken unaware and be killed. He did this to ancient Babylon. They were partying when the hand appeared and wrote the message on the wall. Daniel 5:1,5,25-28, 30-31 “Belshazzar the king made a great feast to a thousand of his lords, and drank wine before the thousand. In the same hour came forth fingers of a man's hand, and wrote over against the candlestick upon the plaister of the wall of the king's palace: and the king saw the part of the hand that wrote. And this is the writing that was written, MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN. This is the interpretation of the thing: MENE; God hath numbered thy kingdom, and finished it. TEKEL; Thou art weighed in the balances, and art found wanting. PERES; Thy kingdom is divided, and given to the Medes and Persians. In that night was Belshazzar the king of the Chaldeans slain. And Darius the Median took the kingdom, being about threescore and two years old. ”

We see that ancient Babylon was taken in one night, perhaps one hour, just as modern Babylon will be destroyed in one day and in one hour. Revelation 18:8-10 “Therefore shall her plagues come in one day, death, and mourning, and famine; and she shall be utterly burned with fire: for strong is the Lord God who judgeth her. And the kings of the earth, who have committed fornication and lived deliciously with her, shall bewail her, and lament for her, when they shall see the smoke of her burning, Standing afar off for the fear of her torment, saying, Alas, alas, that great city Babylon, that mighty city! for in one hour is thy judgment come.”

Babylon will be taken by surprise. Her destruction will be an astonishment to the nations who never thought it could happen. It says that the sea comes up upon Babylon. Now we know that the sea did not inundate Babylon, it fell to Persia, so this is not to be taken literally in the first fulfillment. It is meant more in a metaphorical way for that time, as the way it fell was as if a tsunami had overflown the land. In the second, we know that the Medes will overrun her, plus she will be burned by fire, by the beast. But what if this is also literal in the future fulfillment. While the land may be burned, we know that California is always under the threat of earthquakes submerging her below the ocean's depths. It is in fact a constant warning that one day California will break off and disappear under water. With all the world's physical upheaval during the last days, it is not unlikely that this will indeed happen. Also, when the “mountain” falls in the ocean in the trumpet judgment, it will no doubt cause great tsunamis which will inundate many lands, including Babylon. And yet again we are told that Babylon will be an uninhabited wilderness where no man even passes by. God is really stressing how complete this devastation will be. How many times have the Scriptures said that it will be a wilderness that will never again be inhabited by humans? He is pounding that piece of information into our brains, so that we will pay attention and, if we are still around when the time comes, get out of Babylon.

Jeremiah 51:29-34

Verse 29-32 “And the land shall tremble and sorrow: for every purpose of the LORD shall be performed against Babylon, to make the land of Babylon a desolation without an inhabitant. The mighty men of Babylon have forborn to fight, they have remained in their holds: their might hath failed; they became as women: they have burned her dwellingplaces; her bars are broken. One post shall run to meet another, and one messenger to meet another, to shew the king of Babylon that his city is taken at one end, And that the passages are stopped, and the reeds they have burned with fire, and the men of war are affrighted. For thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; The daughter of Babylon is like a threshingfloor, it is time to thresh her: yet a little while, and the time of her harvest shall come.”

Everything that the Lord has prophesied, every purpose He has planned for her downfall will happen to Babylon. For the umpteenth time we are told she will be a land that is desolate and forever again without an inhabitant. Even her powerful men tremble at what is happening. They do not fight back, but hide out in their places of refuge. Babylon is burning all around them. Word is being sent to the leader of Babylon that her land is being taken from one end to the other. All the roads and means of transportation have been blocked. There is no escape. Even the military troops are terrified. Notice that it is not Babylon now that is mentioned, but the daughter of Babylon. Here is the indication that this is referring to someone other than ancient Babylon. It is the offspring of Babylon, one of the nations in her lineage. Ultimately that, I believe, is America. The daughter of Babylon is about to be threshed. She is about to be harvested. We are told in the New Testament of the parable of the wheat and the tares. This is exactly the harvest of which Jeremiah speaks. Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43 “Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field: But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way. But when the blade was sprung up, and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also. So the servants of the householder came and said unto him, Sir, didst not thou sow good seed in thy field? from whence then hath it tares? He said unto them, An enemy hath done this. The servants said unto him, Wilt thou then that we go and gather them up? But he said, Nay; lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn. Then Jesus sent the multitude away, and went into the house: and his disciples came unto him, saying, Declare unto us the parable of the tares of the field. He answered and said unto them, He that soweth the good seed is the Son of man; The field is the world; the good seed are the children of the kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked one; The enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels. As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world. The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity; And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.” Just as in the letters of Revelation, Christ here says that those who have ears to hear, should hear and be forewarned. Those who do not, will not.

Verse 34 “Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon hath devoured me, he hath crushed me, he hath made me an empty vessel, he hath swallowed me up like a dragon, he hath filled his belly with my delicates, he hath cast me out.”

Here we have a verse that refers specifically to the king of ancient Babylon, so we know this verse is aimed at ancient Babylon, however it is just as appropriate for the leader of the daughter of Babylon. The leader of Babylon has crushed Israel and emptied her of her people. He has stolen her treasures and cast her out of her country. Does this not happen again at the end?

Jeremiah 51:13-28

Verse 13-16 “O thou that dwellest upon many waters, abundant in treasures, thine end is come, and the measure of thy covetousness. The LORD of hosts hath sworn by himself, saying, Surely I will fill thee with men, as with caterpillers; and they shall lift up a shout against thee. He hath made the earth by his power, he hath established the world by his wisdom, and hath stretched out the heaven by his understanding. When he uttereth his voice, there is a multitude of waters in the heavens; and he causeth the vapours to ascend from the ends of the earth: he maketh lightnings with rain, and bringeth forth the wind out of his treasures.”

We see the same description of Babylon that we found in Revelation 17:1 where it tells us “I will show you the judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters.” The original Babylon really did not sit on what could be called “many waters.” She had the Mediterranean on the left, and the Persian Gulf on the right, with the Tigris and Euphrates rivers running through the middle. This is where the idea that the Vatican is Babylon does not hold water (excuse the pun). There is no water around Vatican City. America on the other hand sits on a number of waters. There are the two oceans, the Gulf of Mexico, the Great Lakes, the Saint Lawrence Seaway, The Gulf of Alaska, the Bering Sea, the Mississippi River, The Rio Grande River, and a number of other lesser rivers and lakes. If taken spiritually the many waters could stand for different peoples, which again would indicate America.

She is a land abundant in treasures. That is certainly America. Now she is going to meet her end. The Lord swears by Himself (there is none greater by whom He can swear) that He will fill her with men to destroy her. He lets her know exactly who He is, the Creator of the world, the One who stretched out the heavens. He created the waters out of which He created the earth. He is in charge of the weather and cycles of the earth. She is nothing compared to Him and her power is nothing compared to His.

Verse 17-19 “Every man is brutish by his knowledge; every founder is confounded by the graven image: for his molten image is falsehood, and there is no breath in them. They are vanity, the work of errors: in the time of their visitation they shall perish. The portion of Jacob is not like them; for he is the former of all things: and Israel is the rod of his inheritance: the LORD of hosts is his name.”

Now God tells us exactly where man stands in relation to Himself. Every man is bestial in his own knowledge. Men are confused as to the truth. They worship false images, images in which there is no life unlike the Lord God. All of their man-made religions, ceremonies, gods, etc. are pure vanity on man's part. On the other hand, Israel is not like them, for Israel is the inheritance of the Lord. Israel will live forever and worship the Lord God in truth.

Verse 20-24 “Thou art my battle axe and weapons of war: for with thee will I break in pieces the nations, and with thee will I destroy kingdoms; And with thee will I break in pieces the horse and his rider; and with thee will I break in pieces the chariot and his rider; With thee also will I break in pieces man and woman; and with thee will I break in pieces old and young; and with thee will I break in pieces the young man and the maid; I will also break in pieces with thee the shepherd and his flock; and with thee will I break in pieces the husbandman and his yoke of oxen; and with thee will I break in pieces captains and rulers. And I will render unto Babylon and to all the inhabitants of Chaldea all their evil that they have done in Zion in your sight, saith the LORD.”

Now God is speaking to the weapons of His destruction, the beast (the ax) and his company, (the Medes for one). He will use the beast to break the nations to pieces. It tells us in Daniel 7 that he will devour and break into pieces the other nations. Satan thinks that the beast is his “son” and is doing his will, but in reality, the beast will be doing God's will in exacting vengeance and punishment on all the nations that have turned against God. The ax will break all the military, he will break families, he will break all people regardless of gender, age, race, creed, etc. He will break the rulers down to the lowest worker. He will give back to Babylon and all her inhabitants all the evil that has been perpetrated against His holy land.

Verse 25- 26 “Behold, I am against thee, O destroying mountain, saith the LORD, which destroyest all the earth: and I will stretch out mine hand upon thee, and roll thee down from the rocks, and will make thee a burnt mountain. And they shall not take of thee a stone for a corner, nor a stone for foundations; but thou shalt be desolate for ever, saith the LORD.”

Here we see another verse that refers to nation as being a mountain. When we studied Revelation, we saw that the seven mountains were seven kingdoms. The word “mountain” was also used that way in Daniel, and here again we see that it is being used that way. God is against the destroying nation of Babylon which has destroyed the whole earth with her sorceries and filth. God is going to make her a burned mountain. He is going to burn her entirely to the ground. I believe that after the country is plundered and raped by the Medes, who will slaughter her people, He will finish her off via the beast and his ten cronies by a nuclear holocaust. This is speculation of course, but considering the nuclear proliferation of the countries of the world and the threats against America, it makes sense. It will be so complete a destruction that it will be desolate forever. Not even a stone will be taken for a foundation from her. Considering radiation fallout, that seems logical.

Verse 27 “Set ye up a standard in the land, blow the trumpet among the nations, prepare the nations against her, call together against her the kingdoms of Ararat, Minni, and Ashchenaz; appoint a captain against her; cause the horses to come up as the rough caterpillers. Prepare against her the nations with the kings of the Medes, the captains thereof, and all the rulers thereof, and all the land of his dominion.”

God tells them to run a flag up the flagpole and blow a trumpet among the nations to call everyone to battle. Now we see the list of nations that are coming against her. Ararat and Minni would be the area of Armenia today, and as for Ashkenaz which is only mentioned three times in the Bible, I found this historical explanation of who it is. “As for Ashkenaz, it is almost certainly the Hebrew name of the land of the people known to the Assyrians as the Ishkuza and to the Greeks as the Skythoi or Scythians. The Scythians were a powerful confederation of Indo-European tribes who spoke a language of the Iranian family; their original home was the steppe-lands north of the Black Sea, in what today would be southern Ukraine.” [http://www.forward.com/articles/13681/] From the study in Daniel and Revelation the conclusion had been reached that these were areas that could be included in the ten league confederacy of the beast, so this would be consistent with that deduction. Now the “ax” of the previous verses is called the king of the Medes. The beast is accumulating quite a few names along the way. All the rulers of the other nations under his dominion come against Babylon.

My People are destroyed for Lack of Knowledge

Hosea 4:6 "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children."

I am interrupting the study of Jeremiah to address a situation that is occurring in America. I am not sure how widespread it is over the country, nor do I know if it is occurring in other countries, but it is something that is of concern.

A well-known man by the name of Harold Camping who owns a Christian radio station called Family Radio has been putting up billboards for a while now predicting the Lord's return and Judgment Day on May 21, 2011. Here is a website with a picture http://prophecyproof.blogspot.com/2011/02/photo-of-nearby-billboard-that-claims.html. He does not believe in a literal interpretation of Scripture, so does not believe in a tribulation period, nor a 1000 year millennium. He feels everything will come to an end on May 21, and eternity will begin. He is claiming on these billboards that the "bible guarantees it". When accused of being a false prophet, he always says that he is not prophesying, he is merely stating what the Bible says, so that every time he is wrong (he predicted the end in 1994 also) he can wiggle out of it.

There are always false prophets and people who follow them, so that is always a concern as these followers give away all their worldly possessions, etc. in anticipation of the end, and then lose their faith when it doesn't occur. Someone asked him if he will refund the life savings of all the elderly people (who have been sending him money to try to get the word out before it is too late), on the 22nd of May when this event does not occur. He gets very nasty with people who make comments like this to him, which shows the true state of his heart. What is of more concern is that through all the diligent studying I have been doing, it has become, more and more, a real probability that Satan has been working with his human and demonic minions to stage a fake rapture. Years ago he set up the false belief of a pre-tribulation rapture for just this purpose. At first I just shook my head in sadness at Camping's prediction, but then knowing how much media attention this is beginning to get, it came to me that this might possibly (or not, I make no predictions) be the perfect time for the fake rapture to take place. A fake rapture has been planned to happen, I just do not know when. For those who run out to greet it, they will be taken and killed. Hopefully God will be merciful and these people will die in as quick and painless a way as possible. I say that because I have heard some truly horrible and grotesque stories as to what is planned for them. For those who know God's Word and what the signs are for the Coming of the Lord, and realize this is fake, my advice is to run to the deepest basement or cellar you can find until this hoax is over, so that they don't grab you.

I know people who follow Camping and disagree with my literal interpretations of Scripture. They feel that we can disagree in love, as it is not all that important as to who is right. My opinion is, if most of the Bible is about the Lord's Second Coming, God must think it is important. There are multiple blessings in Revelation for those who read, and heed what is written there. There is good reason for that. Those who know what is going on will not be deceived by all of this and may survive it all. When God says His people are destroyed for lack of knowledge, He means that had people studied, they could have escaped, because they were forewarned. There is no such thing as doctrines that are unimportant. All of God's Word is truth, and it is all important. There is only one truth, (not multiple ones) and we need to find it. If you settle for falsehoods, you will be deceived and destroyed. I am of the opinion that the events of the tribulation are not because God is choosing this horror for His people, but that this is the natural outcome of our refusal to listen to Him. He is merely telling us what will happen, not what He is making happen. He allows it to refine his disobedient children. Christians are going to suffer and be destroyed simply because they lack knowledge. If all the Christians in the world understood God's truth and were obedient to it, Satan could not do what he is going to shortly do. We have brought this on ourselves due to our laziness and ignorance of God's Word. It takes work to study, and most people do not want to work.

Be forewarned that there is much planned to deceive us. There is a lot of chatter that this may be the year that the government discloses the existence of "aliens". We know them better as demons, fallen angels, and nephilim. A lot has been happening to set up this disclosure. Astronauts are now coming forth and telling of their encounters in space with E.T. ships. We are being inundated with science fiction shows and movies about alien invasions. We are being set up for a delusion, and I believe the belief in aliens has a great deal to do with it. Should there be a fake rapture, it would allow the perfect timing to disclose the existence of "aliens". There are dark days ahead. Much has been going on that is of great concern - large animal groups dying in inexplicable ways, plagues, famines (there is a shortage of food coming everywhere), catastrophes, and the economies. Keep studying God's Word, and as Christ said, "Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man." Luke 21:36.

Jeremiah 51:7-12

Verses 7-9 “Babylon hath been a golden cup in the LORD's hand, that made all the earth drunken: the nations have drunken of her wine; therefore the nations are mad. Babylon is suddenly fallen and destroyed: howl for her; take balm for her pain, if so she may be healed. We would have healed Babylon, but she is not healed: forsake her, and let us go every one into his own country: for her judgment reacheth unto heaven, and is lifted up even to the skies.”

As in Revelation, Babylon is represented as having a golden cup in her hand and being drunk on the blood of the saints, so she is depicted here. Just as she is said to fall in that book, so she is said to fall and be destroyed here. And just as people howl for her destruction there, so they are told to howl here, for there is no healing for her after this. It is the end of her. Those who have an ear to hear are again told to leave her and go to their own country, for her judgment will rise to the skies.

Verse 10 “The LORD hath brought forth our righteousness: come, and let us declare in Zion the work of the LORD our God.”

The Lord is now going to bring forth Israel's righteousness. Now finally all Israel will be saved. Many of Israel will die during this time, but those who come through all this will be saved. They will go to Zion and declare how the Lord has saved them. Again, we see that it is Zion where they are to run.

Verse 11 “Make bright the arrows; gather the shields: the LORD hath raised up the spirit of the kings of the Medes: for his device is against Babylon, to destroy it; because it is the vengeance of the LORD, the vengeance of his temple.”

God now tells the destroyers to get their weapons together and in order for He has put it in the heart of the king of the Medes (the beast or Mahdi) to devise a plan against Babylon to destroy it. The Lord does this, just as he hardened Pharaoh's heart, in order that His will might be carried out. It is the Lord's will that Babylon be punished in revenge for what has happened to His temple.

Verse 12 “Set up the standard upon the walls of Babylon, make the watch strong, set up the watchmen, prepare the ambushes: for the LORD hath both devised and done that which he spake against the inhabitants of Babylon.”

God now gets almost sardonic with Babylon for, as we know from other Scriptures, she sits as a queen and thinks nothing can touch her. Because of her arrogant attitude that she thinks she is safe from anyone, she never has her watchmen on the walls, watching for enemy attacks. She is a party country. So God, knowing she will never listen, tells her to set out her flag as a call to arms, to put people on the watch, and to set traps for invaders, for He has planned and and is doing exactly what He has prophesied against Babylon. She will do none of those things to save herself, even though she has been warned. She has too much pride. She will be humbled and destroyed.

Jeremiah 51:1-6

Verses 1-4 “Thus saith the LORD; Behold, I will raise up against Babylon, and against them that dwell in the midst of them that rise up against me, a destroying wind; And will send unto Babylon fanners, that shall fan her, and shall empty her land: for in the day of trouble they shall be against her round about. Against him that bendeth let the archer bend his bow, and against him that lifteth himself up in his brigandine: and spare ye not her young men; destroy ye utterly all her host. Thus the slain shall fall in the land of the Chaldeans, and they that are thrust through in her streets.”

The declaration of punishment against Babylon continues in this chapter. God will send a destroying wind and fanners that will fan Babylon. The word “fanners” in Hebrew can also be defined as "profane foreigners." The word “fan” means “to winnow.” So this is telling us that just as a strong wind is used to help winnow or separate the chaff from the wheat, so a mighty force of strangers or foreigners that are profane and are like a strong wind will come to sift the land of her sinners. In that day of her visitation or trouble, they will surround her on every side. The destroyers are told not to spare anyone and to destroy her entire population. This is how the people will die in the land of Babylon. Although these people are called fanners, which indicates that the chaff is being separated from the wheat, the fact is that the wheat, if it has been listening to God, should have already fled Babylon. That is why all of Babylon's people will fall. There will be nothing left but the chaff.

Verses 5-6 “For Israel hath not been forsaken, nor Judah of his God, of the LORD of hosts; though their land was filled with sin against the Holy One of Israel. Flee out of the midst of Babylon, and deliver every man his soul: be not cut off in her iniquity; for this is the time of the LORD's vengeance; he will render unto her a recompence.”

Judah and Israel [notice again that all twelve (or actually thirteen) tribes are included here] are no longer being forsaken by God. She is being brought back to the Lord, even though she has been guilty of sin. God is forgiving and being merciful. Again, the people of God are told to flee out of the midst of Babylon so that their souls may be delivered. They are told to not be cut off from God, and they will be if they do not flee Babylon before her destruction. Remember, if they have not received Christ as their Savior, which they have not yet as they do not acknowledge Him until His return, and they die, they will not go to be with the Lord. To deliver their souls to the Lord, it is imperative that they flee Babylon beforehand. These warnings in the prophets are what lets Israel know in advance that she must flee. This is the time of the Lord's revenge for all she has done, and He will give her a just recompence. As we are told in Revelation He gives her back double of what she had given others. Again, I am guessing that the timing of this fleeing must be during the five months of the 5^th trumpet judgment. If I am correct in my understanding of the Scriptures, and America's private citizens come to the rescue of some of the Israelis at the time of the abomination of desolation, they have to be back at Zion before the last trumpet (7^th) sounds, as that is when the Lord returns. As persecution will have been intense against the Jews and Christians up until this time, this may be the first and only opportunity they have to come out of hiding and flee the country. People will be being tortured during this time, and probably as Egypt was more than happy to get rid of Israel after the last plague, the people will be glad to see them leave the country. They may in fact view these plagues of demons as coming from the “alien” God of the Jews and Christians, as I believe everyone will see these demons as aliens. I believe God's two witnesses will be announcing these judgments, and as they represent God, people will believe that God is merely a powerful alien doing this to them. It will be a kind of repeat of what happened at the time of the Exodus, only slightly different plagues, world-wide instead of just Egypt, and viewing things as an alien battle rather than a battle of the “gods.” They may want to be rid of the people whose “alien” God they feel is doing this to them. This is merely hypothetical, but it is a hypothesis based upon the groundwork Satan has laid down for a lie, and the knowledge of what Scriptures say.

Jeremiah 50:29-46

Verses 29-32 “Call together the archers against Babylon: all ye that bend the bow, camp against it round about; let none thereof escape: recompense her according to her work; according to all that she hath done, do unto her: for she hath been proud against the LORD, against the Holy One of Israel. Therefore shall her young men fall in the streets, and all her men of war shall be cut off in that day, saith the LORD. Behold, I am against thee, O thou most proud, saith the Lord GOD of hosts: for thy day is come, the time that I will visit thee. And the most proud shall stumble and fall, and none shall raise him up: and I will kindle a fire in his cities, and it shall devour all round about him.”

God is calling the warriors of the Medes against Babylon. He is telling them to surround her and let none of her people escape. This seems in contradiction to the verses before this that told God's people to flee to Zion. It is not in contradiction, though. It seems that this warning of what is to come is for God's people to know that it is coming, so they can flee beforehand. Only those who do not know their God will be caught unaware and be unable to escape. Again comes the command to pay her back for all that she has done to others and to God. She is guilty of the sin of pride. Pride against the Lord God. As a consequence, her young men will fall dead in the streets, and her military will be destroyed in that day and unable to help her. God again calls her proud and tells her that the day of her visitation from Him has come. All the rich, proud, famous, those who think their riches can save them will be killed. God will burn all of the cities and destroy all the land round about.

Verses 33- 34 “Thus saith the LORD of hosts; The children of Israel and the children of Judah were oppressed together: and all that took them captives held them fast; they refused to let them go. Their Redeemer is strong; the LORD of hosts is his name: he shall throughly plead their cause, that he may give rest to the land, and disquiet the inhabitants of Babylon.”

God then announces that both Israel and Judah have been oppressed and held captive, and those who have done this to them have refused to let them go. Indeed, to this day, Judah is a persecuted people, and some of Israel have no idea they are Israel. Oddly enough there seem to be pockets of people in various parts of the world who have Jewish traditions and beliefs, but are not Jews. It is hypothesized that these people may be remnants of Israel. Fortunately at the end, they will finally have someone to plead their cause and fight for them. The Redeemer, Yeshua, is strong. His name is the Lord of Hosts. He will not just plead their cause, for He actually makes no plea. He will simply take back what is His to give and He will punish those who have been against His people, in particular Babylon.

Verses 35-40 “A sword is upon the Chaldeans, saith the LORD, and upon the inhabitants of Babylon, and upon her princes, and upon her wise men. A sword is upon the liars; and they shall dote: a sword is upon her mighty men; and they shall be dismayed. A sword is upon their horses, and upon their chariots, and upon all the mingled people that are in the midst of her; and they shall become as women: a sword is upon her treasures; and they shall be robbed. A drought is upon her waters; and they shall be dried up: for it is the land of graven images, and they are mad upon their idols. Therefore the wild beasts of the desert with the wild beasts of the islands shall dwell there, and the owls shall dwell therein: and it shall be no more inhabited for ever; neither shall it be dwelt in from generation to generation. As God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah and the neighbour cities thereof, saith the LORD; so shall no man abide there, neither shall any son of man dwell therein.”

Now God calls for a sword upon Babylon and her inhabitants. In other words, He is calling for the death of everyone, the princes, the wise men, the liars, the mighty men, the horses and chariots (the modern counterpart would be the destruction of all our military tanks, ships, jets, etc.), and all the rest of the people in her midst. Notice the adjective “mingled”. This implies that the people are not of one nationality. Can that be said of anyone other than America? We have people from every country on earth here. They will behave as a woman would when faced with terror. The implication is that they will cower in fear. He calls for them to plunder and rob her of her treasures. The water will be dried up as by a drought. This may be an actual drought, as there will be drought during the tribulation and Day of the Lord, but it is also possible it is from all the burning that is going on around the country. God calls for this because they are guilty of gross idolatry. It will no longer be inhabited by people, forever. It will be a place for the wild beasts and owls. This is a repetition of what we have seen pronounced against Babylon before, both in Revelation and Isaiah. Her destruction is compared to Sodom and Gomorrah, whose demise was so complete that until recently people did not even believe these cities existed, as there was nothing left to show they had existed. All that remains in the area where they were to have existed is evidence of fire and sulfur.

Verses 41-46 “Behold, a people shall come from the north, and a great nation, and many kings shall be raised up from the coasts of the earth. They shall hold the bow and the lance: they are cruel, and will not shew mercy: their voice shall roar like the sea, and they shall ride upon horses, every one put in array, like a man to the battle, against thee, O daughter of Babylon. The king of Babylon hath heard the report of them, and his hands waxed feeble: anguish took hold of him, and pangs as of a woman in travail. Behold, he shall come up like a lion from the swelling of Jordan unto the habitation of the strong: but I will make them suddenly run away from her: and who is a chosen man, that I may appoint over her? for who is like me? and who will appoint me the time? and who is that shepherd that will stand before me? Therefore hear ye the counsel of the LORD, that he hath taken against Babylon; and his purposes, that he hath purposed against the land of the Chaldeans: Surely the least of the flock shall draw them out: surely he shall make their habitation desolate with them. At the noise of the taking of Babylon the earth is moved, and the cry is heard among the nations.”

Again we see that this is not referring to Nebuchadnezzar's Babylon, as it was only Persia that conquered them. This is a people “from the north”, a great nation, and many kings with it from the coasts. Back then the coasts of the earth would be the countries around the Mediterranean. Although applied to today it would take in more countries than that. It would take in a lot of America's enemies. The “people from the north” is obviously not Canada, as said before. Originally this would have referred to the Medes. It still does in essence, but I think that there is more here than just the attack from the Medes. This is a great nation. The word "great" here means "oppressive." A nation from the north. In the course of this study, we have run across this description before. It continues to say that their voice roars like the sea, and they ride horses in array. The report of them is so fearsome that the leader of Babylon quakes and is in as much anguish as a women giving birth. I believe that this may refer to the “aliens” or fallen angel/demon/nephilim that I believe will play a part in the end times. It may even refer to the riders of the sixth trumpet judgment. God asks who can possibly stand before Him under the circumstances? Nobody, is the answer. Babylon will be taken and brought down, and this will be such a great thing that the earth will reel from the doing of it. The nations will cry (again we saw this in Revelation) at her sudden, swift, and complete annihilation.

Jeremiah 50:14-28

Verses 14-16 “Put yourselves in array against Babylon round about: all ye that bend the bow, shoot at her, spare no arrows: for she hath sinned against the LORD. Shout against her round about: she hath given her hand: her foundations are fallen, her walls are thrown down: for it is the vengeance of the LORD: take vengeance upon her; as she hath done, do unto her. Cut off the sower from Babylon, and him that handleth the sickle in the time of harvest: for fear of the oppressing sword they shall turn every one to his people, and they shall flee every one to his own land.”

These verses continue the command of the Lord, for the nations to come against Babylon, that were found in verses 9-13. He is telling them to spare no weapons, for He is taking His vengeance on her, that what she has done to others should be done to her. This parallels what is said in Revelation 18:5-6 “For her sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities. Reward her even as she rewarded you, and double unto her double according to her works: in the cup which she hath filled fill to her double.” As in all the other prophecies pronounced against Babylon, this also says that her people will be cut off, in this case the sower and the one who harvests. If this were taken metaphorically, this would mean that the gospel will no longer be preached there, and the rapture will not find any of God's people there either. (In my studies, I have come to believe that those Christians who survive the tribulation may be told by God to flee to Jerusalem at a certain point in time to be there when He returns. I believe they will flee with those of Israel who return to Jerusalem. It may be that at the time of the 5th trumpet judgment, when everyone who has taken the mark is tortured for five months, God will allow those here to escape. People will not be able to stop them at that time, as they will be being tortured themselves. This is strictly conjecture though.) Because of the fear of the sword (again, notice the specificity of the use of the word sword, which is clearly a Muslim weapon of execution) people will try to flee Babylon (Rev. 18: 4 “And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.”) back to the countries from which they came. Whether they make it or not is another question.

Verses 17-20 “Israel is a scattered sheep; the lions have driven him away: first the king of Assyria hath devoured him; and last this Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon hath broken his bones. Therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, I will punish the king of Babylon and his land, as I have punished the king of Assyria. And I will bring Israel again to his habitation, and he shall feed on Carmel and Bashan, and his soul shall be satisfied upon mount Ephraim and Gilead. In those days, and in that time, saith the LORD, the iniquity of Israel shall be sought for, and there shall be none; and the sins of Judah, and they shall not be found: for I will pardon them whom I reserve.”

At the time this takes place, Israel is a scattered sheep. This includes both the northern ten tribes, who were scattered by Assyria, and then Judah who was scattered by Babylon, both in the first captivity, and then when the third temple is desecrated by the beast and Israel is scattered again. We have seen in this chapter that God blames Babylon for the destruction of Israel this time also. God now says that He will bring Israel [both Ephraim (the 10 tribes) and Judah] back to its land (all of its lands) and then God will search Israel (again both Ephraim and Judah) to find their iniquity, but He will no longer find it. Then God will pardon them, for He has reserved this particular group for Himself to be the nation in the millennium. They have been turning back to the Lord. That this clearly is speaking of the end times and not Nebuchadnezzar's captivity is seen in that both Israel (Ephraim - 10 tribes) and Judah are brought back, searched for iniquity and pardoned. This has not happened and will not happen until the end of Daniel's 70^th week. Therefore we know that this passage and all the prophecies given regarding Babylon are about Babylon the Whore, as the timing places it there.

Verses 21-25 “Go up against the land of Merathaim, even against it, and against the inhabitants of Pekod: waste and utterly destroy after them, saith the LORD, and do according to all that I have commanded thee. A sound of battle is in the land, and of great destruction. How is the hammer of the whole earth cut asunder and broken! how is Babylon become a desolation among the nations! I have laid a snare for thee, and thou art also taken, O Babylon, and thou wast not aware: thou art found, and also caught, because thou hast striven against the LORD. The LORD hath opened his armoury, and hath brought forth the weapons of his indignation: for this is the work of the Lord GOD of hosts in the land of the Chaldeans.”

Merathaim and Pekod are simply symbolic names for Babylon, they are not historical cities. Merathaim means double bitterness, or double rebellion. It is a double bitterness to God, and she is guilty of double rebellion, idolatry and pride. Pekod means punishment. So God again is telling the nations to go against Babylon to destroy her and do all that He has commanded them to do, to utterly waste her. The sound of battle and great destruction will be heard around the world. The hammer (the Hebrew word means “to pound”) of the earth will be broken, destroyed, and become a perpetual desolation. Babylon has been the one who has forced others to comply, the police enforcer or "hammer" of the entire earth. Does this description not fit America? We are the U.N.'s peacekeeper. We go in and take over and make nations comply. God lays a snare for Babylon. She is unaware. In other words, she is taken by surprise by an attack that she did not see coming. There are enemies in her midst at this very moment, yet she is closing her eyes to that fact in the name of tolerance and a loathing to racially profile people. She sacrifices safety in the name of political correctness and liberalism. She will be caught in the trap the Lord has allowed to be set, because she has set herself up against God. The whole earth is God's to control for His will, so He brings out the entire armory of weapons at His disposal against her. Her destruction may begin at the hands of the Medes and the beast, but it is the work of the Lord that is being done and when they have accomplished their part, He will finish her off Himself.

Verses 26-28 “Come against her from the utmost border, open her storehouses: cast her up as heaps, and destroy her utterly: let nothing of her be left. Slay all her bullocks; let them go down to the slaughter: woe unto them! for their day is come, the time of their visitation. The voice of them that flee and escape out of the land of Babylon, to declare in Zion the vengeance of the LORD our God, the vengeance of his temple.”

Continuing on in the same manner, God tells them to plunder her. They are to ransack all of her storehouses, kill the animals (destroy all food sources) and destroy everything they can find. They are to leave nothing. God has planned a day of visitation for Babylon, and it will come. Those who escape out of Babylon do go to Jerusalem (Zion) as mentioned above, and there they declare that God has destroyed Babylon in vengeance for, as said before, the destruction of His temple.